Dark's Promise
by PenguinsOfMadagascar
Summary: This story takes place right after my story Keep Holding On. It's a short story to see if Dark and his cats can keep their promise to the penguins and stop tormenting lemurs on Madagascar. Rated T just in case. Adventure. Hurt/Comfort. Read and Review. Complete!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters! I do own pretty much everyone in this story though, but characters like Julien and even the penguins are mentioned in this story. It's mainly about Patch and the lemurs on Madagascar, and if Dark is able to keep his promise to stop torturing the lemurs. I didn't know if I should put this in the Madagascar section or what, but since my other story Keep Holding On is in the Penguins of Madagascar section, I decided to just put this story in that section as well.**

**I hope you all like this short story, but I guess you'd be confuse if you didn't read my Keep Holding On story, which is a sequel to my Skipper's Secret story, so yeah...If you did want to read this story and not the others, all you need to know if in Keep Holding On there was a group of evil cats who took over Madagascar so the penguins and lemurs had to come save the island, which they did. In the end, Dark and his Clan turned their ways, and decided to stay on the island, but I wanted to make this short story to see if they really did change their ways. Oh and in my story Keep Holding On, King Julien made his brother, Patch (my own character, of course, since he doesn't have a brother in the movie) the new king of Madagascar!**

* * *

The new king of Madagascar sat on the beach, his eyes glued on the sparkling water. He could still see his brother waving at him from the makeshift boat the penguins had made to make it back to New York. Patch shifted his weight and wondered if he'd ever see his older brother again.

He really didn't care about his new title; unlike Julien, he never really cared about being king. But now that he was the king, he was gonna try to serve all the lemurs the best he could, especially after the horrible fright Dark had given them.

Thinking of Dark, made it hard for Patch to believe that Emily had asked the dark cat to stay on Madagascar and make a territory here after everything he's done. The ring tail king wanted to believe that he's changed, but he can't believe that someone could change just like that. He just doesn't trust those cats.

Suddenly a voice spoke behind him, making him jump. "Your Majesty?"

Patch got to his feet and turned to his friends. It was the black-and-orange lemur who had spoken, dipping his head respectfully to the new king, while the female animal lingered behind the older lemur.

"Do you really have to call me that, Weasel?" asked Patch as he went to join the two. "I know my brother made me king, but I don't feel different, so I don't think anyone should treat me differently."

It was the female ring-tail lemur who answered though. "Of course we do, my king." She copied Weasel's gestured and dipped her head. "You are in a much higher rank than us now, so we must respect that."

Patch sighed, not liking what she said at all, but he didn't try to argue with her. "Do as you wish, Lilian," he murmured as his glance swept over the beach. Then he turned back to his two friends. "I have a tough road ahead of me, don't I?" he asked them, frowning a little.

Weasel nodded. "First off, you must get to the clearing where Dark was holding his prisoners," he told the new king," and you have to tell them that Dark is defeated. I'm hoping if they hear that they will snap back to normal, because when we were there, they looked half dead."

Patch looked at black-and-orange lemur for a long moment, before finally daring to ask him," How would you like to be my adviser, Weasel?"

The other male lemur's eyes went huge when Patch asked him that question. "A-are you sure you want me?" he stammered.

"Yes," Patch replied instantly. "I'm sure between the two of us we can calm down the other lemurs and get Madagascar back to the way it was before."

Weasel smiled, but before he could speak, Lilian asked," What about me?"

Turning to her, Patch saw the younger lemur staring at him with sad eyes. He smiled down at her and wrapped his arms around her shoulder. "I want you to keep a close eye on Dark's side of the island," he told her. "I want you to make sure that they really have changed and make sure they don't step foot on our side."

Lilian stared wide eyes at Patch as she took a step away from him. "You don't think Dark's change?" she asked, the fear clear in her voice.

The new king wished he could assure her and tell her that Dark has changed, but he didn't believe it. "I just don't think they could have a change of hearts that fast," he said slowly, trying not to scare the young lemur any more than she already was. "But I want you to keep a close eye on their territory, and come straight to me if you see anything out of the ordinary."

"But do _not_ go into their territory." Weasel appeared beside Patch, who mentally slapped himself for not telling Lilian that himself.

"Yes," the king agreed. "Watch their territory from our side of the island, but don't let anyone see you. Do you understand, Lilian?"

The female ring-tail lemur nodded. "Yes, I think so," she replied. "Do you want me to go ahead and get started?"

Patch thought for a moment, before shaking his head. "No, give them time to explore their territory and find a home in it. But," he added," you can start watching them tomorrow."

Lilian nodded in understanding. "So what now?"

Patch sighed softly; he knew they had to go to the clearing where Dark kept his prisoners, but he had hoped to put that off for a while longer. He didn't want to go back to the rotting clearing where half-dead lemurs still lay. "I guess we go tell everyone Dark is defeated," he finally announced.

The two dipped their heads to the king, and they followed him as Patch walked across the beach and headed toward the line of trees.

* * *

**Please review! No flames please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters! I do own pretty much everyone in this story though, but characters like Julien and even the penguins are mentioned in this story. **

* * *

A putrid smell hit Patch as soon as they got to the clearing, and he looked down at all the lemurs. Some of them were curled up, while others sat up and stared at nothing. He felt a cold shiver go down his spine when he saw several dead lemurs.

Something touching his shoulder making him jump, but he relaxed when he saw that it was only Weasel. "I forgot how bad it looked," his adviser murmured as he scanned the clearing. He turned his attention back on the new king. "Dark nearly ruined Madagascar."

"Nearly?" Lilian spoke from the other side of Patch, and when he turned to her he could see that she was trying hard not to throw up from the horrible smell of rotting fruit and decaying bodies. "Just look what he's done! It's gonna take forever to get this island back to normal. I can't believe Emily invited him to stay here," she added with a hint of anger in her voice, which was unusual for the gentle lemur.

Patch turned to his adviser, and he saw that Weasel was nodding in agreement. Taking a deep breath–and trying not to chock on the horrible smell–the new king started walking into the clearing, the other two right behind him. He glanced around at the lemurs that were still alive, noticing that they barely had enough strength to lift their heads.

_Will they even be able to leave here?_ Patch wondered with a heavy heart.

He stopped beside a group of lemurs and bent down beside them. They looked up at him with huge eyes. "It's okay," he murmured. "Dark is defeated and I'm gonna get this island back to the way it was."

They just stared at him bleakly, and Patch sighed as he straightened up. He glanced around; spotting a large rock that was high above everyone. He quickly walked to it and jumped on it, turning to face everyone in the clearing. Weasel and Lilian stayed on the ground beside the rock, looking around at the screen in front of them.

"Listen up–"He stopped when his voice cracked and decided to try again, this time his voice stronger. "Listen up everyone!" The lemurs who were able to turn their heads gazed at Patch with dull eyes. "Dark has been defeated. We once more rule this side of the island!"

He was glad to see that a sparkle of hope entered a few lemurs' eyes as they stared up at their new king. "I'm sure we can get back to normal in no time!" he told them, glancing around at all the lemurs.

Then one of them pushed himself to his feet to stand in front of the rock, dipping his head to Patch. "But where did Dark and his cats go?" he asked, his voice giving away that he was in a lot of pain.

Patch winced. He had hoped nobody would ask that question, or at least a while would go by before someone wanted to know where Dark had gone. "Dark has made his own territory on the other side of the island, far from us." He wasn't surprised when all the lemurs looked at him with disbelieving eyes, but most of them were still too weak to do anything but stare at the new king.

The one who had asked the question joined in the staring for a few moments, before he found his voice again. "Can we trust them though?" he asked. "You allowed them to stay after everything they've done?" He slowly lifted his paw and gestured around the clearing, but he quickly lowered his hand and laid back down as if that one movement was too much for him.

Patch felt a pang of sympathy for these lemurs. "Emily thinks they have changed," he told them. "But just to be on the safe side, we are gonna keep a close eye on Dark's side to make sure he doesn't cause any more trouble."

"And if he does?" The speaker was a red ruffed lemur, who stared unblinking eyes up at the new king, and his voice was so hoarse that Patch barely heard the question.

Patch tried to think of something to tell the lemur, but he had no idea how to reply. He was thankful when Weasel stood up and faced the lemur who had spoken. "If he tries anything, we need to be ready," the black-and-orange lemur said. "We need to learn some fighting moves so we can protect what is ours." He glanced around at the other lemurs, and Patch felt pride in his adviser.

Murmurs of agreement rippled throughout the clearing, and Patch was beginning to think that maybe they could actually do what Weasel said. He nodded down to the male lemur and told him," Once everyone has healed and recovered from the shock, I want you to get on with teaching them some moves."

Weasel dipped his head to the king and murmured," Of course."

Patch looked down at Lilian, who was sitting next to the rock quietly. He wondered what was going through her mind; by now she'd usually speak, but she just stared at the other lemurs with huge eyes.

Turning his attention back on everyone else in the clearing, Patch called out to them," Since we are the strongest right now, we will bring food to everyone here, and I'll have Lilian look over you all to make sure your wounds don't get infected." He glanced down at the female ring-tail lemur again, knowing she knows a few things about herbs around the island. He was glad to see that she was nodding to what he said, but still she said nothing.

_I'll ask Weasel if he can see if she's okay,_ the king decided, worry for the younger lemur gripping his heart.

Patch turned to look out at the clearing again, suddenly feeling tired. But there was still one more thing they had to do before he could rest. He raised his voice again so everyone could hear him. "Come, it's time to bury the dead."

* * *

**Please review! No flames please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters! I do own pretty much everyone in this story though, but characters like Julien and even the penguins are mentioned in this story. **

* * *

Once the task was done, Patch headed toward the beach so he could wash the sand from his hands. He hadn't realized so many lemurs had died when Dark had this side of the island under his control. The king felt like they died because of him. It was supposed to be his duty to look after the lemurs when his brother had left, but instead he let some cat take over, and Julien had to come back to rescue them.

Sighing, he wondered if his older brother did the right thing, making him king. He had no idea how to get this island back to normal, and most of the other lemurs were too sick or injured to even move. He knew it was going to take a lot of effect to get back to the days before Dark arrived, and he silently vowed that he'll do the best he could, but he doesn't know what actually that could be.

Julien was the best king this island ever saw; he managed to give hope to everyone when the fossa was attacking, but Patch didn't think he could do that. When there was a fossa attack, Patch would try to hide the lemurs or calm them down, while his brother did what he could to protect them, but he knew what Dark did was far more worse than any fossa attack.

He came to a halt and stared at the treetops, barely able to see the sky, but he felt like he needed to pray. _Please Sky Spirits,_ he thought as his green eyes scanned the slowly darkening sky, _help me be the best king I can be, and please keep an eye on Dark; make sure he's not up to anything._

He waited for a sign that they heard him, but the few stars that were out seemed so far away. He sighed and started walking to the beach again, feeling lonelier than ever before.

When he finally got to the beach, he started walking straight to the water, but he froze when he felt eyes watching him. He glanced around, but at first he didn't see anything. Then he spotted eyes in the bushes, watching his every movement. He shivered, wondering if they were Dark's cats. If so, what were they doing here?

He suddenly realized that they never discuss if Dark would get part of the beach. He hoped that's why they were here. He was trying to decide if he should call the cat out, when suddenly the leaves parted, and a dark gray-and-white she-cat stepped out, padding across the beach to the new king. He recognized her as Holly, Dark's second-in-command.

Patch took a few steps forward, meeting the cat halfway. He was glad to see warmth and even respect in her eyes.

"Greetings, King Patch," she meowed to him.

Patch sighed inwardly._ Now the cats are calling me king!_ But then he realized something. He took a step away from the cat and asked," How do you know my name?"

"News travels fast throughout the island," Holly explained, sitting down and wrapping her tail around her paws. "Now, there's something we must discuss. Dark has sent me here in his place because he's too busy with organizing his territory."

The new king looked at the cat curiously. "What would that be?" he asked. _At least she's not being hostile,_ he added to himself. _Maybe these cats really have changed._

"Dark thinks we should get some of the beach," the dark gray-and-white cat meowed, echoing Patch's earlier wonder.

Patch nodded his agreement, before glancing down the beach. He knew not many lemurs go on that side of the beach. "How about that side?" he asked her. "It'll be closer to your side of the island, too." He looked at the cat, wondering how she'll react to a lemur pointing out what land she could have, instead of her choosing for herself. He was glad to see there was approval in her eyes.

"That could work," she murmured. "I'm going to take a patrol out there tomorrow and check it out." She glanced at the king. "If that's okay."

"Of course," Patch answered. "It's your land now." He was silent for a moment, before daring to ask," How are you cats settling in?"

Holly turned to the lemur in surprised. "Fine," she answered after a few moments of just staring at him. "We've never lived like a real Clan before, so that's something we have to get used to. And," she added, glancing at the trees," some cats aren't comfortable sleeping under the trees. That's why we need the beach." She turned her gaze back on Patch. "Dark wants to see if we could make a camp on the sand, so the cats don't have to sleep under trees."

Patch understood that. "Well I hope it all works out," he said to her. Then he remembered why he came here and he quickly told the cat," Excuse me. I have to do something."

"That's fine," Holly replied. "I need to get back anyways." She dipped her head to the king, before getting up and walking back to the trees.

Patch watched her go, until finally he turned around and made his way to the water. He sat down and ducked his hands into the ocean, washing off all the dirt.

"What did she want?"

The king jumped in surprised at the voice, but he relaxed when he realize it was only Weasel. Patch took his paws out of the water and shook his hands off to dry them, before getting up and replying to his adviser. "She said Dark wanted part of the beach," he told him.

Weasel stared at Patch for a moment, until finally he spoke again. "Did you give it to them?"

"Of course," Patch answered, surprised to see suspicion in Weasel's eyes. "Holly explained that some cats aren't comfortable sleeping under trees, so Dark wanted to see about making a home on the beach."

The black-and-orange lemur rolled his eyes. "We can't trust them," he murmured, glancing at the trees and then turning back to his king. "I think they are up to something."

"Why would you say that?" Patch challenged him. He didn't like the way his adviser was talking about the cats. "When I was talking to Holly, she seemed to really have changed. I think we don't have anything to worry about with them." Weasel opened his mouth to reply, but Patch wasn't in the mood to hear whatever he said; the other male lemur had got him mad and he wanted to drop the subject of the cats. "Come on," he snapped at Weasel. "Let's get back into the trees before it gets too late."

Patch started walking across the beach, glancing up at the now dark sky. He was aware of Weasel hurrying to catch up to him, but he didn't want to turn back and talk to his adviser. As they entered the trees, Patch thought, _I'm starting to think those cats really have changed. _

* * *

**Please review! No flames please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Penguins of Madagascar or any of its characters! I do own pretty much everyone in this story though, but characters like Julien and even the penguins are mentioned in this story. **

* * *

The next few days went by smoothly. The lemurs were slowly gaining strength, and Patch had been wandering their side of the island, trying to tidy up. He had picked up the rotting fruits, and Madagascar was slowly getting back to normal. The king even allowed Weasel to teach some lemurs a few fighting moves, but Patch was starting to wonder if that would be necessary.

Dark's cats really have seemed to change; every time Patch saw them on the beach and call out a greeting to them, they'd return the call with respect and kindness. But every time they seemed too busy to stop and talk. Patch wondered if they found a home on the beach. He wanted to talk to Dark and see if they were settling in okay, but the king never sees the dark cat, only his warriors.

Now Patch sat in the clearing where Dark had kept all his prisoners. Every time he stepped foot in this part of their territory, he felt a cold shiver go down his spine. He knew Dark and his cats were changing, and they were trying to make a better life now, but he couldn't stop thinking about those dark days when Dark ruled over the lemurs.

Glancing around, the king was glad to see that many of the lemurs were able to leave the clearing, and now just a few were left, the ones who had the worst damage from Dark. As he looked around, Patch noticed Weasel and Lilian walking toward him. He got to his feet and met the two lemurs halfway.

"I've been keeping an eye on Dark's side of the island," Lilian announced, dipping her head respectfully to the king. "I don't think they are up to anything bad. When I see them, they are trying to find food or exploring. I even talked to a patrol this morning, and they said they are settling in well."

Patch felt a huge weight lift off his shoulders as the female lemur talked, and when she got to the end of her report, the king nodded and said," That's great news." He then thought of something and he asked Lilian," Have you seen Dark?"

The ring-tail lemur shook her head, surprise lightening her eyes as she stared at Patch. "I only see his cats," she replied. "Why? Did you want to talk to him?"

Before Patch could reply, Weasel spoke up. "I'm sure he's just been too busy with getting his warriors settled to actually go out on patrol." He seemed to trust the cats a lot more than when Emily first allowed them to stay on Madagascar, and Patch was glad about that.

The king murmured an agreement to what his adviser said, and then he added," But I do want to talk to him."

"Why?" Weasel looked at Patch, making him feel uncomfortable under his gaze.

"I haven't seen him since he and his cats left for the other side of the island," Patch explained. "There are a few things I want to ask him and talk to him about."

"Do you want me to ask one of his cats if you could see him?" Lilian asked, but Patch shook his head.

"No," he answered her. "I'm going to go wait on the edge of our territory 'til I see a patrol." He started to walk into the trees, but Weasel called him back.

"Do you want us to go with you?" the black-and-orange lemur asked.

"Nah, I'll be fine." Patch hurried out of the clearing before one of them could call to him again, and he jumped into a tree, swinging from tree to tree until he finally got to the edge of lemurs' territory. He paused in the tree above where the cats had set scent markers so the lemurs would know where their land ends and where the cats' begin.

He sat in the tree and began to wait. He wasn't sure how long went by until finally he started hearing voices. Looking on the ground, the king noticed three cats walking close to the edge of the two territories. He spotted Holly, but the other two were strangers to him. He called out a greeting as he jumped out of the tree, landing a few feet away from the patrol.

The cats looked surprised to see him, but they mewed a friendly greeting as they walked to the edge of the territory. Patch was glad to see warmth in their eyes instead of hostility.

"Greetings, King Patch," meowed Holly as she came to a halt in front of the lemur. "Is there something we could do for you?" Her voice was full of curiously as she looked Patch over.

"I just wanted to know if I could have a quick word with Dark," the king told the cat. "If that's okay?"

Holly shared surprised glances with the other cats, before turning back to Patch. "Why do you want him?" she asked, and the lemur was shock to hear a bit of a growl in her voice.

Taking a step away from the cats, Patch explained," I just wanted to ask him a few things."

It was a few moments until finally Holly dipped her head and meowed," Fine. Follow us."

Patch was surprised that these cats were gonna let him into their territory, but he ran to catch up to them as they started walking through the trees again. The king glanced around, feeling eyes on him; he didn't see any more cats though. He soon noticed that the patrol was leading him toward the beach.

Maybe they did decide to make a home on the beach after all, Patch thought as he continued to follow the cats. They finally left the trees behind and Patch found himself walking onto the sand of the beach. He glanced across the sand and noticed a large group of cats. He suddenly felt nervous and like he was a prisoner, but he pushed that feeling away, reminding himself that he was now a lemur king and that he was only here to discuss things with Dark.

The patrol took him deep into the group of cats, and he saw that the warriors glanced at him with curiosity instead of hostility. Patch even spotted a few of the lemurs who had betrayed their friends to join Dark, but even they looked happier than the last time Patch saw them.

Holly finally came to a halt in front of a massive black-and-gray tom. Patch looked at Dark, not believing what he saw. The leader of these cats laid on his side, and he had many scars on his pelt. He looked very skinny like he hadn't had a good meal in days.

_No wonder I haven't seen him out,_ Patch thought, sympathy for this cat overtaking him. _I wonder if he can even get up..._

But as he thought that, Dark lifted his head to look at the king. Then he pushed himself to his paws, dipping his head to Patch. "Greetings, King Patch," he meowed in a hoarse tone as if he hadn't used it in days. "Is there something–"He was cut off by a fit of coughing, and he fell back on his side as if he couldn't hold himself up anymore.

Holly was by his side within moments, before she lifted her eyes at the surrounding cats. "Jay!" she called into the crowd and a gray tom pushed himself to the front, staring down at the sick leader.

Patch took a few steps back, suddenly wishing he hadn't come here after all. He stared down at Dark, and he was startled to see that he was barely breathing.

The gray tom looked him over before bowing his head. "There's nothing else I can do for him," he murmured to Holly. "I'm afraid Dark is on his way to the stars." He stared at the second-in-command for a few moments, and then he looked down at their leader.

The lemur king hardly dared to breath as he watched Dark's chest faintly raising and falling, until it stopped altogether. Patch closed his eyes, grieving for the dark cat, even after everything's he's done. He opened his eyes to see Holly staring down at her dead leader with disbelief on her face.

"Dark?" she asked, gently nudging him, but Patch knew he'd never move again.

Patch walked over to Holly and dipped his head to her. "I'm so sorry," he whispered. "Is there anything we can do for you?"

The dark gray-and-white she-cat shook her head. "No," she replied, looking down at the king. "I thought maybe Jay could save him, but there's just so much a cat can do." She sighed and turned her eyes back on Dark's body. "You said you had stuff to discuss with Dark?" she asked without looking at Patch.

"Yes," he said, unable to look at the leader anymore so he kept his gaze on Holly. "But it can wait 'til another time so you can grieve for your leader."

To his surprised, Holly shook her head and said," You can discuss what you want with me." She got up and started walking away, her back to Dark's motionless body.

Patch ran after her. "Well, I just wanted to know how you were settling in," the king told her once they were away from the group of cats that were now gathering around their dead leader. "But I didn't realize Dark was in such bad shape." He glanced over his shoulder at all the cats, before turning back to Holly as she led him to the water.

She came to a halt just as the water was about to touch her paws. "I was hoping Jay could save him," she meowed, her gaze fixed on the sky. "It looks like I'm gonna be the new leader." She sighed which confused Patch.

"Do you not want to be the leader?" Patch asked, looking at the cat closely.

Holly turned to him in surprised. "Oh no, it's not that," she replied quickly. "I'm just gonna miss Dark." She turned her gaze back on the sky, and Patch noticed the deep sadness in her eyes. He then understood.

_Could they have been mates?_ the king wondered, but he didn't want to ask Holly.

They sat together on the beach, looking up at the sky. Patch realized these cats really have changed, and he hoped after they got over their grieving for Dark that they could finally have a normal life in a Clan–Whatever that means. He still wasn't sure what a Clan was.

"We could learn from each other," Patch told the cat, looking at her. "We have many things we can teach one another."

Holly looked at him for a long moment, before dipping her head. "We sure do," she agreed, and Patch even heard a purr deep in her throat.

_Perhaps in the future we can help each other out,_ he thought as he looked back up at the sky with Holly beside him. _Maybe in the future we won't even have territories._

* * *

**Please review! No flames please!**

**The End!**


End file.
